Covering Canadian figure skating since 2011

Binder, Paper, Scissors – An Adolescence Well Documented

The 1988 Olympics in Calgary passed like a Chinook, and the winds of change came over the figure skating world, and the face of figure skating changed, too.

New stars were emerging, such as American sweetheart Jill Trenary, pair strongholds Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler, and Canada’s Cowboy Kurt Browning.

And I wanted to document it all. I started to collect newspaper clippings from every skating event I could find from Dodie Wardle’s to Skate Canada International to the Worlds.

Clipping from Interlake Spectator, 1993

I would skip ahead to the sports section of the Winnipeg Free Press and Interlake Spectator during figure skating season. My love of scissoring out who placed what, when and where grew with each competition. I would spend time painstakingly stapling my precious snippets into a bubble-gum pink binder.

The events skaters from my club participated in were highlighted, and when I would appear in the paper, I would note with my name, or simply “That’s Me,” for future generation to know. Some clippings have war-wounds, held together with tape and staples, after saving them from the entrance floor or the ravages of time.

New ISU regulations for figure skating costumes, 1989

Some may not see the value in a book of tattered pieces of paper with old skating scores from 1993. Or stories about how figure skaters “must cover up,” circa 1989, and or that skaters from “Arborg and Riverton took home 31 medals” in 1993. And, yes, I even clipped the Nancy Kerrigan story.
But, I do. For one, because of this blog, it’s been a valuable resource. Plus, it’s always nice to look back on memories and your past accomplishments.

Kurt Browning retires, 1994

However, in 1994 when Kurt Browning stepped down from the amateur ranks, so too did my scrapbook. I clipped a few more events, such a Elvis Stojko’s tour. But – for the most part – I stopped clipping world championships and nationals.